Mini Electric review

The Mini Electric is a very complete little EV. It preserves pretty much everything we like about a standard Mini Cooper S, but it’s more accelerative where it matters, and has zero local emissions. It proves that the hot hatch will have a future as an EV. And it reinforces something we learned with the VW e-Golf – that an electric car doesn’t have to be wantonly radical to be a success. Stuffing a car we already know and like with battery cells can, with the correct execution, be a good tactic.

However, the Mini asks you to understand a few home truths. BMW could have given it more range and will do down the line. But, that will likely make it heavier and more expensive, with longer charging times and less cabin space. For this first proper production attempt it studied a lot of Mini owner data, sussed out the average Cooper S travels 26 miles a day, and moulded the Mini Electric’s performance to suit that brief, needing only a couple of recharges to slip into the average Mini audience’s life unnoticed.

It’s a strong addition to the Mini family. We’ve always championed the weight-saving, space-giving packaging of the now retired BMW i3, so now it’s over to Mini to see if the conventional approach can do the numbers.

Continue reading: Driving

Driving

What is it like to drive?

The bad news is the Mini Electric weighs in 145kg heavier than the petrol Cooper S. But there is some good news to counter that. Firstly, the weight bias is further back, spread more evenly along the car, so it’s better-balanced.

Secondly, that weight is carried lower in the chassis: the centre-of-gravity lies 30mm deeper than the dino-fuelled hot hatch, despite the body actually standing 18mm taller to make room for the battery. Overall, that’s good news for cornering.

So it’s handy round the twisties, then?

On the one hand the Mini Electric is an agile, chuckable little hatchback. But it’s also more jiggly riding and less alert than a normal Mini, because while you can put firmer suspension on 145kg of flab, and hang it lower in the body, 145kg is still one hundred and forty-five kilograms. A 1,365kg supermini is a porker, and you can sense this.

Crucially, though, it doesn’t spoil the experience. It’s something you notice and then get used to. A standard Mini is nowhere near as plush-riding as, say, a Renault Clio anyway. It was already the sporty end of the spectrum.

The motor develops 181bhp and 199lb ft, which is enough to shift the lardy-but-nippy Mini from 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds; not quite standard Cooper S pace. It doesn’t matter. It’ll do 0-31mph in 3.9 seconds, which is plenty rapid enough for urban combat.

This isn’t a one-trick pony EV that’s all acceleration and no manners. The performance feels balanced with the handling, and thanks to the BMW i3’s exceptionally clever traction control, which anticipates slip instead of reacting to it with stabs of wasteful braking, you’re never wasting valuable charge with messy wheelspin.

Does it borrow the i3’s one-pedal function, too?

Yep – if you lift off the go pedal, the regen will slow the car as aggressively as a medium dab of the brakes, funnelling otherwise wasted power back into the battery. You can turn this down to allow the car to coast, using one of the toggle switches on the dashboard. We’d have preferred this to have been activated by paddleshifters, but there aren’t any. Shame.

Every time you switch the car on, it’ll default to its high-regen setting, so on balance it’s less hassle just to get used to the more efficient mode. And speaking of modes, for even more Greta-pleasing driving there are Green and Green Plus modes to dial back throttle response and even disable the climate control if you’d really like to boost your range. Click the switch in the opposite direction and Sport mode perks up the powertrain.

And the noise, presumably?

Happily, it doesn’t inject any fake noise into the cabin, though whatever mode you’re in, the Mini emits a subtle, likeable sci-fi electro-drone to warn pedestrians of its presence. Inside, the only noise to speak of is a little wind flutter around the slightly more angular, aerodynamic door mirrors.

How often will I need to charge?

Mini claims the Electric will do between 140-145 miles on a charge. On test, with limited use of the aircon/heating and braking regen set to ‘very’, a full charge showed as 118 miles.

Ignore what the dash might tell you, we make that about 4.1 mi/kWh (although Mini quotes a 32.6kWh battery, only 28.9 of that is useable): this is both very good efficiency for an electric car, and still a bit pants if you need to get somewhere that’s two hours away by motorway.

Using a three-pin socket will take around 12 hours for a full recharge, or using a home charging unit allows for a full recharge in 3.5 hours. Or it’ll go from empty to 80 per cent in 2.5 hours. And if you can find a fast-charge station that’s operational, then zero-to-eighty per cent takes about 35 minutes.

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Continue reading: Interior

Interior

What is it like on the inside?

All Mini Electrics get a screen behind the steering wheel showing speed, charge, range and trip data – a huge improvement on the previous do-it-all dial – plus an 8.8-inch circular infotainment screen (now touch sensitive as well as iDrive operable), which works as well as anything else out there. There’s very little that’s going to offend or distress here, and in our eyes it still looks the part, too.

You also get tactile, physical climate controls instead of a touchscreen sub-menu, plus toggle switches for a range of other features including driving modes, etc. Let’s hope the next generation doesn’t eschew buttons altogether…

Is it comfortable?

As ever, front passengers are sat low and straight legged, the steering wheel telescopes plenty from the dash, and overall, the driving position is superb.

It’s, er, slightly less comfortable in the rear, where legroom is pretty much non-existent – this is a car for smaller families only. Buyers after a Mini with bigger families will need to look to the Mini Countryman plug-in hybrid, if it’s electric propulsion you need to ferry around the little’uns. Or you could wait for the EV-only Aceman crossover, set to arrive in production form in the near future.

Is there much boot space?

Mini is at pains to point out the battery has been housed deep in the chassis where it can’t impinge on boot volume, which remains 211 litres. That’s on the small side for a supermini, but splits the likes of the Honda e (151 litres) and the Renault Zoe (335 litres). Both of those rivals are five-doors too, while the Mini is stubbornly a three-door.

Again, Mini says its research suggests most owners treat their Mini like a two-seat coupe and use the back seats chiefly as a parcel shelf, so the meagre rear access and pinched (non-existent) rear space needn’t matter.

There’s a useful bevy of stowage in the armrest, door pockets, and under the boot floor for storage cables. It’s all very well put together, certainly more expensive-feeling than the Renault Zoe, though the Honda e feels slightly homelier.

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Continue reading: Buying

Buying

What should I be paying?

The Mini Electric’s sticker price now starts at £32,550 for the most basic ‘2’ trim (a £29k ‘1’ was previously available), while the now mid-spec ‘3’ version is £34,500.

There’s been a constant stream of special editions throughout its short life so far too – the current being the fully-loaded ‘Resolute Edition’ that’ll set you back at least £35,050. For that you get a lovely dark Rebel Green paint, a white contrast roof, bronze accents and a deep black cloth and leatherette interior.

Monthly payments for the range start at around £400, £450 and £500, on a four-year agreement with a six-month initial payment.

The RRP figure puts it in the same ballpark as the majority of its rivals, with the Vauxhall Corsa Electric starting at £33,930, the Renault Zoe at £29,995, the Peugeot e-208 at £31,345, and Fiat 500 at £28,195.

There’s a sizeable leap up to the Honda e, which costs an eye-watering £38,020 for the entry-level Advance model. Small doesn’t necessarily mean cheap these days.

What’s the kit like?

As standard on the Mini Electric Level 2 you get digital dials and an 8.8-inch Apple CarPlay-compatible infotainment display with built-in satnav, plus LED headlights and taillights. You also get seats that’ll warm your bum along with parking sensors and a reversing camera, so it’s a tad less clenched. A head-up display, premium hi-fi, panoramic sunroof, adaptive LED headlights with matrix function and a full leather interior arrive on the ‘3’ spec model.

Oh, and if you don’t like the vivid highlights, you can delete them at no cost. The three-pin socket-style 17in wheels, that no-one apart from Brits recognise as a plug-in motif? They’re an option; smaller 16s are standard.

What’s the best spec?

We’d probably opt for the now entry-level Level 2 trim, which offers a stylish look plus features like the heated seats, which will come in handy during the colder months without having to rely on the energy-sapping heating.

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Continue reading: Specs & Prices

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